Microsoft Adds H.264 Support to Chrome Via an Extension

Google announced last month that its Chrome browser would no longer have H.264 codec support since Google was switching it over to just WebM. Well, Microsoft didn't really like that since H.264 support is built directly into Windows 7, so the folks at Redmond took it upon themselves to make an extension for Chrome that adds H.264 support. In a blog post, Microsoft explains that adding the support back in was as simple as writing an "extension that parses HTML5 pages and replaces Video tags with a call to the Windows Media Player plug-in so that the content can be played in the browser." Basically, you'll just need to grab this extension if you're a Chrome user and then when you try to play a video in the H.264 codec, it'll call up the Windows Media Player plug-in to play it. It sounds like a simple fix but it is just odd seeing it come from Microsoft. In any case, Chrome users can now enjoy H.264 videos once again.